In the fast-moving world of college athletics, the University of Arkansas is dealing with some big changes in its Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) operations. Best of Arkansas Sports recently reported that Arkansas Edge, the university’s official NIL collective, is close to being phased out.
This shift comes at a time of legal changes and a controversial partnership with Blueprint Sports, a company that manages NIL collectives for several universities. The situation gets even messier with the recent House settlement, which now allows schools to pay athletes directly through revenue sharing.
Let’s dig into the details around the possible shutdown of Arkansas Edge and what this could mean for Razorback athletics.
The Rise and Fall of Arkansas Edge
Arkansas Edge was set up as a replacement for the OneArkansas Collective and has served as the university’s official NIL collective since November 28, 2023. Fans could donate to support Razorbacks’ NIL efforts, which gave student-athletes important financial backing.
But now, multiple sources say Arkansas Edge is being phased out and could be replaced by a new collective. The new setup is supposed to handle the recent House settlement better, since that settlement has really changed the college athletics world by allowing direct payments to athletes.
Blueprint Sports: A Controversial Partnership
One big reason Arkansas Edge might be shutting down is the university’s partnership with Blueprint Sports. This company manages NIL collectives for a bunch of schools but has gotten heat lately over how it does business.
Sportico reported that Blueprint Sports charges an annual management fee of about $284,000. There’s also a profit-sharing deal where the company keeps between 50% and 70% of what it raises for Oregon State University.
Critics call this profit-sharing model predatory because a big chunk of money doesn’t make it to the student-athletes. While the exact terms with Arkansas aren’t public, it’s clear Blueprint takes a cut from fan memberships and a spare change program.
None of these details are listed on the Arkansas Edge website, which raises some eyebrows about transparency and fairness.
The House Settlement and Its Impact
The House settlement has shaken up the NIL world by legalizing revenue sharing and creating a clearinghouse called NIL Go. Any NIL deal over $600 has to be submitted to this clearinghouse and must meet fair-market value standards to get approval from the College Sports Commission (CSC), which is the NCAA’s player-compensation enforcement group.
At first, the CSC banned NIL collectives completely. After some pushback, though, they agreed collectives could stick around, but under strict scrutiny.
Arkansas’s Competitive Edge in NIL
Even with all the drama around Arkansas Edge, Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek says Arkansas isn’t behind other schools in the NIL race. He pointed out that Arkansas has had over $500,000 in agreements go through the NIL Go system, with each averaging about $15,000.
That’s way above the national average of $5,800 per agreement. Yurachek also said Arkansas is hitting the full cap on revenue sharing, which means up to $20.5 million a year can go to athletes in all sports.
He mentioned that there’s an NIL strategist in the front office, and the Learfield team is actively looking for NIL opportunities for student-athletes.
The Future of Arkansas Edge
Right now, the future of Arkansas Edge is up in the air. There’s been a lot of turnover, with key staff like Jakota Sainsbury and Alex Harper leaving.
At the moment, Marcus Madlock, Blueprint’s Vice President of Client Partnerships, is acting as the interim executive director of Arkansas Edge. He’s based in Norman, Oklahoma, and hasn’t responded to requests for comment.
Potential New Directions
With all the issues and criticism around Blueprint Sports, it’s looking more likely that Arkansas will end the partnership and move on from Arkansas Edge. That could open the door for a new collective that’s more transparent and fits better with the latest legal changes and university priorities.
In a recent media chat, Yurachek didn’t mention Arkansas Edge when talking about the university’s NIL strategy, which some folks thought was telling. Instead, he talked up Davonté Higginbottom, Director of NIL Strategy, and Sydney Lemmerhirt, Associate Director of Player Relations, as the main drivers of the university’s NIL efforts now.
Conclusion
The potential shutdown of Arkansas Edge could be a real turning point for the University of Arkansas’s NIL operations. There’s a lot of uncertainty right now, especially with the controversies swirling around Blueprint Sports and those recent legal changes.
It’s hard to say exactly what’s next, but the university seems determined to keep giving its student-athletes the support they need. Whether that’s enough to weather all this? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
If you want to dig deeper, check out the full report on the potential Arkansas Edge shutdown over at Best of Arkansas Sports.
- Schools Covered
- College Football Articles
- Men's College Basketball Articles
- Men's College Soccer Articles
- Women's College Basketball Articles
- Olympic Athlete Articles
- Men's College Baseball Articles
- College Sports Media Professionals Articles
- Hall of Fame Member Articles
- Former College Player Articles
- Game Previews
